The Secret of Rabbi Akiva's Success
Rabbi Akiva began to study when he was forty years old. Yet after several months of intense learning, he felt little progress towards his self-improvment. He fell into despair and left his studies. Subsequently, while sitting near a well, he noticed that water erosion had made a hole in a stone. He realized that "if water which is soft can penetrate a rock which is hard, surely Torah which is solid as iron will penetrate a soft heart of flesh and blood. This insight inspired him to return to Torah and propelled him to be one of the greatest Rabbis in history!
Lesson: Just as the actual erosion cannot be grasped by our senses, so too, the day to day impact of Torah is imperceptible. Nevertheless, every word of Torah rectifies and sanctifies our being.
App: Visualize that each word of Torah you learn brings light, holiness, and elevation to our body and soul.
(Based on Ohr Yisrael, Rav Yisrael Salanter, Chapter Thirty)
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L"N R' Yochanon Mordecai ben Ephraim and Moras Esther Leah bas Yehudah Yoseph
Refuah Shieimah Yochanon Baruch ben Fruma Etta Refuah Shleimah R' Pinchas ben Gittel Rus |
